Lock



July 10, 1934. E. JACOB] 1,965,942

LOCK

Filed NOV. 3, 1953 Patented July 10, 1934 Loon Edward N. Jacobi. Milwaukee, Wis., asaignor to Briggs it Stratton Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application November 3, 1933, Serial No. 696,468

Claims. (CI. 70-46) This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in locks and refers more particularly to key controlled tumbler locks? It is an object of this invention to provide an 5 improved closure for the open-end of the key hole.

Devices heretofore provided for covering the open end of the key hole, usually embodied an element mounted on the exterior of the lock.

Such external cover elements were objectionable in many respects, principally in that they required additional'space and necessitated a separate manual actuation before the key could be inserted.

'15 With these and other objections to existing key hole covers in mind, it is a further object of this invention to provide a closure which is wholly within the usual confines of the lock structure so as not to project beyond the face thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a closure of the character described which operates on the principle of a shutter and is automatically opened by the insertion of a key and likewise automatically closed upon removal of the key.

Another object of this invention is to provide a closure for the keyway of a lock which is carried entirely by the lock cylinder and is retained assembled with the head of the lock cylinder by a cap which also provides a finished surface for the cylinder head.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated two complete examples of the physical embodiment of my invention constructed according-to the best modes I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a lock cylinder head embodying this invention, with part of the finishingcap broken away to illustrate structural details;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken through Figure 1 on the plane of the line 2-2;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a slightly modified form of this invention;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken through Figure 3 on the plane of the line 4 4, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the closure member or shutter employed in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. 60

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 6 represents a lock cylinder of the conventional type. Inasmuch as this invention is concerned solely with the front end of the cylinder only that portion has been illustrated.

The cylinder 6 has a longitudinal keyway 7 opening to its front face. A key guiding rib 8 is mounted in the cylinder with one edge projecting to the side of the keyway, the front end of which is inclined to facilitate insertion of the key.

Formed in the front face of the cylinder in communication with the mouth of the keyway is a 45 recess 9 in which a Sliding closure or shutter 10 is disposed to normally close the open end of the keyway. The recess 9 is substantially rectangular as illustrated in Figure 1, and is of a depth equal to the thickness of the closure plate or shutter. Cut into the bottom of the recess are two round bottomed grooves 11 to receive expansive springs 12 which are confined between the ends of the grooves and the inner edge of the closure or shutter 10, to yieldably urge the closure to its'85 operative position over the open end of the keyway.

A sheet metal cap 13 is applied to the cylinder head to simultaneously afford a neat finished surface and retain the shutter in place. This cap has an annular flange 14 to embrace the hear of the cylinder and the inner edge portion of the annular flange is spun over theback of the head as at 15 to secure the same in position.

The cap has an opening 16 in alignment with the keyway '7 to permit the insertion of a key, but this opening is normally closed by the closure or shutter 10. On one side, the opening 16 is provided with a notch 17, one wall of which is pressed down as at 18 into an enlargement of the keyway to guide the nose of the key into engagement with the beveled side of a notch 19 formed in the adjacent edge of the shutter. Consequently, upon insertion of a key as illustrated in Figure 2, sidewise motion will be imparted thereto to move the shutter sidewise against the action of the springs 12 and enable the passage of the key into the keyway. Obviously, upon removal of the key, the springs 12 1 will return the shutter to its normally closed position.

In the embodiment illustrated in the Figures 1 and -2, the shutter or closure is formed of metal, preferably stainless steel, but if desired, the shutter may be formed of a thermoplastic material, such as a phenol condensation product, and a modified emodiment of the invention incorporating a shutter of this construction is illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

In this embodiment, the shape of the recess in the outer end of the cylinder head is different than that of the embodiment shown in Figures l and 2, and a single spring 21 is employed The shutter 22, which as stated, is formed of a phenol condensation product or similar material, has a rectangular projection 23 extending downwardly from its inner face to be slidably received in a depression 24, extending down from the bottom of the recess 20.

This rectangular projection 23 is grooved as at 25 for the reception of the spring 21, the ends of which engage the end of the groove 25 and the opposite end of the'depression 24 so that the shutter is yieldably urged to its normally closed position.

As in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, a finishing cap 26 similar to the cap 13 is employed to retain the shutter assembled with the cylinder and also provide a neat finish for the end of the cylinder.

The cap 26 also has an inwardly directed depression 27 opposite an inclined notch 28 in the closure to guide the key and shift it-sidewise and automatically move the closure to its open posi-' tion permitting passage of' the key into the keyway.

By forming the shutter of a phenol condensation product or similar material, interference with the free action of the shutter by corrosion is entirely eliminated, and to insure smooth action and preclude binding due to friction, the front face of the shutter is relieved so that only narrow edges 29 bear against the inner face of the finishing cap.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, that this invention affords a novel and improved keyway closure for lock cylinders and that the objections to existing types of closure devices are entirely eliminated thereby.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In combination with a lock cylinder having a keyway, a closure element movable transversely to and from a position closing the mouth of the keyway, a retaining member secured to the cylinder to hold said element assembled therewith, yieldable means normally urging said element to its operative position closing the keyway, and means on the retaining member to guide a key into engagement with said transversely movable member and to impart sidewise movement to said key and the closure element upon the insertion of the key.

2. In combination with a lock cylinder having an open ended keyway and a recess in the outer face thereof communicating with the mouth of the keyway, a closure slidably disposed in said recess and movable to and from a position closing the open end of the keyway, spring means to yieldably urge said closure to its operative position over the mouth of the keyway, a cap secured over the front face of the cylinder to hold the closure in said recess, said closure being movable against the action of its spring by a key, and means on the cap to guide the key during insertion thereof into engagement with the closure and to impart transverse movement thereto so that the normal insertion of the key automatically shifts the closure to open position.

3. In combination with a lock cylinder having a keyway opening to the front end of the cylinder, a cap covering the front end of'the cylinder and having an opening in line with the keyway, a closure member directly beneath the cap and yieldably maintained in a position closing the keyway, and means on the cap to guide a key into engagement with the .closure and to shift the key and closure sidewise to automatically uncover the keyway and permit passage of the key into the keyway.

4. In combination with a lock cylinder having a keyway opening to the front end of the cylinder, a cap secured over the front end portion of the cylinder and having an opening therein in line with the keyway, a closure member slidably mounted directly beneath the cap, spring means engaging the closure member to yieldably hold the same in a position closing the keyway, and an inclined wall carried by the cap adjacent the opening therein to guide the nose of a key into engagement with the edge of the closure member opposite the yieldable means and to shift the key sidewise upon insertion thereof so as to automatically open theclosure member and permit the passage of the key into the keyway.

5. In combination with a lock cylinder having a keyway opening to the front and thereof and having a recess in the front end portion communicating with the mouth of the keyway, a closure member slidably mounted in the recess for movement to and from a'position closing the mouth of the keyway, said closure member having its outer face substantially flush with the outer end of the cylinder, a cap secured over the outer end portion of the cylinder to hold the closure member in the recess, spring means disposed in said recess to yieldably project the closure member to its position closing the mouth of the keyway, and an inclined wall provided by a depression formed in the cap adjacent the opening therein to guide the nose of the key into engagement with the side of the closure member and to shift the keyand the closure member sidewise against the action of said spring means so as to automatically open the closure member and permit passage of the key into the keyway upon insertion thereof.

EDWARD JACOBI. 

